Tireless blogger Steve Ruddock contends that we have good reason to be optimistic about the fate of Sheldon Adelson‘s fatwa against Internet gambling. For starters, there’s the sheer slothfulness of Congress itself: How many times has it promised, say, comprehensive immigration reform and delivered squat? Besides, Adelson’s congressional flunkies have moved off Restoring America’s Wire Act (“a beached whale,” according to a GOP lobbyist) and are trying the more oblique route of freezing state-by-state legalization — which still raises vexing Tenth Amendment questions — while conducting a fan dance “study” of the issue. You can bet they Continue reading →

“We build resorts and we are bringing to Boston a destination resort. Hopefully, they will treat us with softer hands. It will feel good when they stop hitting us.” — Steve Wynn, lamenting his treatment by Massachusetts officials.

Wynn Resorts split Wall Street expectations for cash flow in Macao last quarter, as well as on the Las Vegas Strip. Analyst Carlo Santarelli of Deutsche Bank said Wynn’s Vegas room revenue “wasn’t great” and characterized management’s projections as “a tad aggressive.” As for the Macao, although Wynn did better than anticipated, Santarelli opined “it’s very difficult to believe Macau is bottoming with firm conviction … we believe WYNN is the most appropriate way to play the potential fundamental/sentiment shift we would anticipate accompanying the trend stability [in a best-case scenario]. Accordingly, while we do not believe we are out of the woods yet as it pertains to Macau, we continue to believe the longer term optionality in WYNN is compelling.”

“I shudder to think what Indian country would look like without the revenue that comes in from Indian gaming.” — Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, testifying on the financial impact of tribal casinos.

Las Vegas Sands has let it be known that, should Thailand legalize casinos, it would like to get a foot in the door — in the form of a metaresort like its $5.7 billion Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. That’s all well and good but the Thai government remains hopelessly at odds with itself on the issue. When National Police Chief General Somyot Poompanmoung voiced his approval of legalized casinos, Thai strongman Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-O-chatold him to put a sock in it. The country is still without a new constitution and many parliamentarians would rather concentrate upon that.

Our crackerjack research department at LVA is hot on the trail of a report that MGM Resorts International is going to shuck one of its signature properties, The Mirage, lock, stock and volcano. A sale of the megaresort that changed Las Vegas irrevocably has been bruited about for years and MGM CEO Jim Murren has been on an asset-selling freny of late. Starwood Capital Group, fresh from selling the Riviera, is the mooted buyer. Fast-rising Paragon Gaming would be jobbed in to run the hotel-casino with which Steve Wynn changed the template of Vegas resorts forever, spurring countless imitations — and in the face of rampant skepticism, it should be remembered.

Strip casinos had the impossible task of keeping up with last June’s baccarat tally (when revenues shot up 155%) and, as might be expected, fell off the pace. The volume of play plunged 43% and revenue tumbled 57%. As for other table games, wagers were down 4.5% but the house held its own, with revenues flat from last year. Wrote J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, “we expect the market to continue to experiencing volatility in baccarat play given a likely slowdown in Chinese players.”

The contraction in baccarat play contributed mightily to a 16% decline in Strip gaming revenues. Even slots disappointed, with Continue reading →

In a stunning reversal of fortune, KG Urban Enterprises has ditched its $650 million New Bedford casino project, citing financial difficulties. This ends seven years of grinding effort to gain civic acceptance, which culminated in a landslide electoral victory earlier this year. It also leaves a Neil Bluhm-backed casino proposal in Brockton as the only one on the table before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Said KG Urban Managing Partner Barry M. Gosin, “Despite significant efforts and expenditures on our part, we and our lenders/partners have been unable to create a viable financing package for the project. In particular, both Continue reading →

Where MGM Resorts International goes, other casino companies are quick to follow — to Atlanta, in this case. Mayor Kasim Reed (pictured) is being coy about who the new suitors are, other than two are domestically based (would Las Vegas Sands pass on another urban opportunity, having turned down Boston?) and one is from overseas, which surely must be Genting Group. Not that the Hizzoner is a fan of gambling, saying Las Vegas is what it is for a reason but “it would be fiscal malpractice … not to hear these people out.”

Rumors of the potential site continue to circle on doomed Turner Field (the Atlanta Braves go through baseball stadiums like Continue reading →

“What you have put together is a template on how this should be done. “There are good synergies between these two companies.” — Nevada Gaming Commissioner Randolph Townsend, on Golden Gaming‘s takeover of Lakes Entertainment, which was consummated yesterday.

Business is in a tailspin at Trump Taj Mahal, in part due to Unite-Here‘s call for a boycott of the austerity-minded property. Trump Entertainment Resorts wanted the union muzzled, plus financial compensation. But a federal judge handed CEO Bob Griffin his walking papers, ruling that federal law protected Unite-Here’s actions against the casino. Griffin had argued that bankruptcy law forbade Unite-Here from lobbying casino clients and urging them to avoid the Taj. Union President Robert McDevitt took a victory lap, saying, “We knew at that point that [owner-to-be] Carl Icahn didn’t have the legal right to stop us from talking to Taj Mahal customers.” It remains to be seen whether McDevitt will act upon the union’s strike vote.

Although Paddy Power has lengthened his odds for gaining the White House to 12/1, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) would be one of the most supportive — if not the most supportive — candidates toward the gaming industry. He’s also taken advantage of the Department of Justice‘s reinterpretation of Wire Act to get the Garden State into Internet gaming (although he downplays the significance of his signature on the enabling legislation). He’s also pushed very, very vigorously for legalized sports betting. His one blemish is recent mistreatment of New Jersey‘s Indian tribes, which could point to a more conservative position on tribal gambling nationwide.

That “maybe” hardens into a certainty when the subject is Jeb Bush, the ex-Florida governor who refused to Continue reading →

Wall Street analysts succeeded in setting their expectation for Las Vegas Sands performance in Macao so low that the company was able to exceed them despite deep, double-digit declines in revenue, including 14% less revenue per hotel room. Lower marketing costs were cited and “retail came in better than expected (retail mall profits were up 21%)” wrote J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Also, the decline in premium mass-market play was smaller than that in the base mass-market segment.

Even a slippage at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore was ameliorated by higher premium-mass play from Continue reading →

Macao‘s recession has affected Las Vegas Sands‘ most recent quarterly results and the news isn’t good. You know things are bad when Sands Bethlehem ($137.5 million, +9%) is the lone bright spot. At least LVS had only mildly adverse news on the Strip, where Venelazzo ($346 million) was down 2%. But the numbers from Macao were varying degrees of dire. Even in Singapore, things weren’t so good, with Marina Bay Sands ($713 million) reporting an 11% dip. Getting back to China, hardest hit were Venetian Macao ($739.5 million) down 28% and Sands Cotai Central ($554 million) falling 29%.